OffbeatMerkel's party votes for new leader, and new era in Germany

04:30 07 december 2018

04:30 07 december 2018 Source:
reuters.com

Putin 'concerned' about Ukraine after confrontation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the German chancellor that he is "seriously concerned" about the weekend's escalation near Crimea. Russian border guards on Sunday opened fire at three Ukrainian navy vessels and eventually seized them and their crews. Ukraine on Monday announced martial law in parts of the country, citing a "growing threat" from Russia. The Kremlin said in the early hours Tuesday that Putin expressed his concern over the escalation and the martial law in Ukraine in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel said she hoped her planned departure would end bitter fighting in her weak and fractious In the past he has waded into debates about the role of Islam in Germany and has been a staunch Christian Lindner, the leader of the liberal FDP party , was the first to demand Merkel ’ s resignation as

Angela Merkel leaves the Bundestag after the parliamentary group of the CDU/CSU elected a new leader on September 25, 2018. Volker Kauder, a longtime ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel and leader of her party ’ s parliamentary group has been sent packing after a surprise vote in the German

Preparations ahead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party leadership meeting in Hamburg

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HAMBURG (Reuters) - Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats vote on Friday to decide who replaces her as party leader and moves into pole position to succeed her as German chancellor.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel didn’t make it very far on her flight to the G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Her government aircraft, a modified Airbus SE A340-300 four-engine jet, took off from Berlin and only flew about an hour before it had to land in Cologne because of an electrical system failure. That forced Merkel into a delay of at least five hours before she could board another aircraft to Latin America. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle)
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Angela Merkel casts her vote during the German federal elections. The party ’ s performance marks a major shift in Germany ’ s postwar politics that is likely to produce a very different tone SPD leader Martin Schulz has said the EU Germany ’ s new government – of which, at present, he does not intend

BERLIN — Angela Merkel won a fourth term as chancellor in elections on Sunday, placing her in the front ranks of Germany ’ s postwar leaders , even as her victory was dimmed by the entry of a far-right party into Parliament for the first time in more than 60 years, according to preliminary results.

The frontrunners are Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a Merkel protege seen as the continuity candidate, and Friedrich Merz, a Merkel rival who has questioned the constitutional guarantee of asylum to all "politically persecuted" and believes Germany, Europe's biggest economy, should contribute more to the European Union.

Merkel said in October she would step down as party chief but remain chancellor, an effort to manage her exit after a series of setbacks since her divisive decision in 2015 to keep German borders open to refugees fleeing war in the Middle East.

The new CDU leader will be chosen by 1,001 delegates who vote at a party congress in Hamburg. The winner will likely lead the CDU in the next federal election due by October 2021.

Australia has had five prime ministers in five years. No wonder Merkel needed a cheat sheet at the G-20.

Since 2007, no Australian prime minister has finished his or her term. Meanwhile, Merkel is in her fourth.

GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel has suffered a shock defeat in a key party vote , leading some The roots of discontent among Merkel ’ s party may be in a summer which saw her struggle with the She became the first female Chancellor of Germany in 2005 and is currently serving her fourth term.

Chancellor returns but with diminished authority as first openly nationalist party in decades enters Bundestag.

A survey by pollster Infratest dimap for broadcaster ARD on Thursday showed 47 percent of CDU members favored Kramp-Karrenbauer compared with 37 percent for Merz and 12 percent for Health Minister Jens Spahn.

Merz, 63, who lost out to Merkel in a power struggle in 2002 and is returning to politics after a decade in business, is backed by CDU members tired of Merkel's consensual politics. He won support this week from party veteran Wolfgang Schaeuble.

DANGEROUS CANDIDATE

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a Merkel ally, said: "I am convinced that with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer we have the best chance of the CDU winning an election," adding she would be the most dangerous candidate to face the center-left Social Democrats and the ecologist Greens.

Kramp-Karrenbauer's trump card is her record as former state premier in Saarland, where she led a broad coalition with the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats, alliance-building skills useful in Germany's fractured political landscape.

Merkel's party chooses successor to longtime German leader

Chancellor Angela Merkel's party has celebrated her 18 years as its leader with a lengthy standing ovation as it prepares to elect a successor who could help shape Germany's political direction for the next generation. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle)
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}); A close ally of Merkel's and a one-time rival were considered favorites for the leadership of the center-right Christian Democratic Union.

Merkel ' s CDU party won the largest share of votes at the German election, with exit Mrs Merkel shakes hands with Martin Schulz, leader of the SPD party which served as her junior coalition The party 's entry into the national parliament heralds the beginning of a new era in German politics that

Merkel said last week she would vacate the CDU leadership at a party congress in December, heralding the end of a 13-year era in Kramp-Karrenbauer could probably cohabit as party leader with Merkel as chancellor, which she wants to remain until the end of the parliamentary term in 2021.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, has differentiated herself from Merkel on social and foreign policy by voting in favor of quotas for women on corporate boards, opposed by Merkel, and by taking a tougher line on Russia.

She told Reuters last week Europe and the United States should consider blockading Russian ships over the Ukraine crisis.

But on what lies ahead for the CDU, Kramp-Karrenbauer says: "I have no particular recipe."

By contrast, Merz takes clear positions that appeal to rank-and-file party members hungry for a more clearly defined party after 13 years under Merkel as chancellor. He wants tax cuts, a stronger EU and a more robust approach to challenging the far-right.

Merz will benefit from the fact that 296 of the delegates at the congress - almost a third - will be from his home state, the western region of North Rhine-Westphalia.

One senior CDU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said many delegates were undecided before the congress and could be swayed by how the candidates present themselves on Friday. "It could come down to the speeches on the day," he said.

(Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Pelosi, foes seem near deal likely paving her way to speaker.
California Rep. Nancy Pelosi and fellow Democrats who have tried thwarting her drive to become House speaker seem near an accord that would all but assure she wins the post in the next Congress. Democratic aides say Pelosi and lawmakers who'd tried blocking her were in agreement that she and other current party leaders would be limited to no more than two additional two-year terms in their posts.

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